Racket inlay



R. J. NASH Feb. 5, 1935.

RACKET INLAY Filed MaICh 16, 1934 BYM ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 5, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 1,989,766 RACKET INLAY` Robert John Nash, Birmingham, England, as-

signor to Dunlop Tire and Rubber Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 16, 1934, Serial No. 715,888 In Great Britain April 5, 1933 8 Claims.

This invention relates to rackets for laWn tennis and other games and to the manufacture thereof, and more particularly to an inlay construction at and adjacent the throat of the racket.

Objects of the invention are to provide an inlay at the throat of the racket, or other places where increased stresses are present, that can be accurately positioned in an easy and economical manner and in which the inlay can be readily formed, and to provide an inlay having edges that do not tend to rise or lift out of the cavity in which the inlay is placed.

Various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch showing a racket in longitudinal section and a cutting means for forming a cut in the racket to receive the inlay; Fig. 2 is a View taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1 showing a manner of tilting a racket to form a concave cut for the reception of the inlay; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the racket at the inlay showing the manner in which the inlay is inserted into the cut; Fig. 4 is a view of the iinished racket and inlay, and Figs. 5 and 6 are sections of the racket taken on lines 5-5, 6 6 respectively.

The present invention may be applied to rackets of any desired construction but it is particularly suited for rackets formed by the methods and constructions of my co-pending applications, Serial Nos. 715,885, 715,886, 715,887, all led March 16, 1934. s

According to my invention, I form a cut into both faces of the racket frame at or adjacent the throat thereof, this cut being preferably of a dished form in which a cross-section on a longitudinal line will have a continuous curvature, and I ill in the concavities thus formed with reinforcing material, preferably of laminated construction to form the inlay.

The inlay is particularly advantageous in connection with frames in which the head and part of the handle are formed as an integral unit. It may, however, be applied to other constructions and also to the repair of broken or injured rackets.

The arcuate cuts may be formed in the racket by bringing the part of the racket 10 into which the cut is to be made into contact with a rotary cutter 11 mounted on a suitable pedestal 12 in a frame 13. The racket 10 is mounted on and between a pair of tiltable brackets 14 and 15 at opposite ends of the frame and is secured in the brackets by clamps 16 and 17.

The rotation of the cutter 11 forms a cut of circular curvature and of a radius equal to the diameter of the cutter 11. The length and depth of this cut may, therefore, be controlled by choice of acutter of suitable radius. To give the cut the circular curvature on a plane at right angles-to the plane of the cutter 11, the brackets 14 and 15, and with them the racket l0, is rocked on pintles 18 and 19 projecting through the brackets 14 and 15 and positioned below the upper edge of the cutter 11 a distance equal to the radius desired for the transverse curvature of the cut. Thus as the brackets 14 and 15 and the racket 10 are swung to the positions indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, a cut on the arc 20 is formed. The cuts are formed equally on both sides of the racket. It will, therefore, be apparent that a cut of eliptical outline and dished on a longer longitudinal axis and a short transverse axis is formed.

Layers of laminated material are pressed into the cuts thus formed, the surfaces of the lamin being coated with glue or other adhesive and are held under heavy pressure until the adhesive has set. This may be accomplished by placing layers 21 and 22 of several plies of lamin on opposite sides of the racket overlying the cuts then placing the racket and the laminated layers between a pair of blocks 23 and 24 mounted on screws 25 and 26 in a frame 27.

The blocks have a curvature complementary to that of the cuts and, therefore, serve to bend the lamina into the cuts and cause them to center accurately therein. The blocks may be faced with surface layers 28 and 29 of rubber or other suitable resilient material. The blocks are preferably supported on the screws 25 and 26 by ball and socket joints 30 and 31 respectively so as to enable them to center the laminated layers 21 and 22 in the concavities of the racket. The screws 25 and 26 are rotated by the handles 3l and 32 and serve to press the laminated inlay tightly into the cuts. The curved form of the cuts enable the laminas to fit accurately and tightly and thereby form a very tight inlay without requiring any considerable skill on the part of the operator. When the lamina have been set and dried the projecting edges may be removed and nished flush with the face of the racket.

The resulting structure as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 has an inlay of dished lamin the edges of which terminate in feather edges 33 reinforced in 5 that permits the inlays to be easily and accurately 5 formed Without great skill and provide an inlay of great strength and durability.

Various modications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:-

1. Arackethavinga depression zat the throat and handle thelbttom-'of said"depressionbeing curved and an inlay comprising bent laminas in said depression, the curvature of said bent inlay conforming to the curvature of said depression. 1

2. A racket having a stress-resisting inlay-comprising successive outwardly concavesuperposed lamin. Y

3. A racket having a stress-resistin'g'inlaycom-y prising successive superposed outwardly concave laminas, the edges of said"lamin fendinfg'in-a common plane.

4. A racket having a concaved recess and a stress-resisting inlay comprising superposed conycave laminas conforming" tothe `concavityr of said recess.` f s 5, Theracketpf claim'fiinivvhich said :recess and inlay vis 1 at :the :junction of k'the thandle Vvand head.

7. A method of forming inlaysin rackets which y `comprises cutting a concave recess in the face of the racket, bending and pressing layers of laminae lintoflsaid recess and removing the portions f of :the lamina: above the-surface of the racket to a1 plane Iush with said surface.

-8. A racketlhaving an inlay at the throat and handle, ls aidracket having a depression curving concavely, onalongitudinal plane at the throat and said inlay comprising bent lamin set intok @the-depression in said racket, the'curvature vof said laminas conforming to the curvature of said 20 depression. Y y

' ROBERT JOHN NASH. 

